California wildfires bring haze to region. By Chelsi Moy of the Missoulian
It looked like this might be the first summer in quite a while that Idaho, Utah, and Montana skies would not be filled with forest fire smoke, then an unusual lightning storm hit California setting hundreds of fires; most still burning.
One day it will be clear then pretty hazy as the winds shift and pump the smoke into one or more of these states.
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Related story. Monsoonal moisture dampens Arizona’s fire season. By John Faherty. The Arizona Republic. Arizona’s fire season is generally early — April through June. Then in most years heavy flow of moisture from the south reduces or ends the fires. It is happening this year.
Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan's Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of "Hiking Idaho." He also wrote "Beyond the Tetons" and "Backpacking Wyoming's Teton and Washakie Wilderness." He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
Since I work outside and treasure my views, I’ve been disappointed to see so much smoke already, especially when it’s been a cool, wet year so far in this area. I guess I should be used to it by now, after all the wildfires over the past 15 years. Here’s a website for anyone who wonders where all the smoke’s coming from.
http://www.firedetect.noaa.gov/viewer.htm
Thanks Eve.
This looks like a very useful web site for those of us who love the outdoors.
The map works well from my perspective. It shows no smoke over SE Idaho today. As I look outside, the sky is bright blue and I can see a long way.
Nice to hear that things are normal in the Northern Rockies so far this year. I should be out in early August near Big Timber(Gallatin NF), then moving up to Glacier, then back to Yellowstone.